The land sits near the corner of Tuttle Avenue and Saunders Road in southern Manatee County. Neal acquired the site from David Parrish.

Neal plans to build 45 homes on the land through a development dubbed “Woodland Trace.” The company expects to start construction by May, with the first homes ready by early 2015.

The new community will replace Neal’s popular Woodbrook development nearby. Since its opening in November 2011, homes in Woodbrook have sold rapidly, with the expectation that the 218 home sites there will be gone by the time Woodland Trace opens.

“All of our communities in that area are very strong because it’s west of Interstate 75, close to employers in both Sarasota and Bradenton, and the schools are A rated schools,” company founder Pat Neal said. “Everything about that neighborhood has been good for us.”

Neal said his company is now selling homes at a pace of 3.6 houses per day.

In 2013, Neal Communities set new company records when it sold 826 homes across its 16 Southwest Florida communities, from Parrish south to Lee County. That was a 35 percent increase from 2012, which was previously Neal's best year.

Josh Salman

Josh Salman is a business reporter for the Herald-Tribune Meda Group. He can be reached at email

Last modified: January 23, 2014
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